The Martial Unity

Rui didn't have time to spectate the fights of others as he ran away, yet it appeared that he had moved a second too late.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH

A Martial Squire chased after him rapidly.

"Tsk," Rui tutted.

He was faster than Rui. Rui ran away at top speed, using Outer Convergence to funnel muscular power from all of his muscle groups into acceleration. He even used his newly created Gale Force Breathing, which made him more than twice as fast as before. Yet even that was not enough to outpace his opponent.

BAM!

Rui was forced to turn around and block a powerful attack with his guard. The two of them came to just a momentary standstill as the assassin succeeded in his goal of preventing Rui from running away while Rui failed in his goal of getting away.

The two of them faced off against each other. Neither of them got a glimpse of the other's appearance since they were both masked, but considering that the enemies had information on them, he probably knew Rui's identity as well. That was probably why he himself had targeted Rui thinking he was only an ordinary B-rank Martial Artist.

They both radiated massive pressure brimming with hostility as they stared at each other, sizing each other up.

It was just a moment in real-time, but to them, it was more than enough.

"Go help the others. Make sure some survive," Rui said out loud. "I'll be fine. GO!"

His opponent didn't respond but was incredibly confused. Was he insinuating that his fellow assassins were in need of help because the Voidhunters were so strong? But why did he say 'I'll be fine'? What did he mean by 'Make sure some survive?'

He didn't know, but he didn't linger on the matter for more than a moment, before rushing in aggressively.

He threw a swift palm jab lunging right for Rui's throat.

A lethal attack aiming for a vital.

Rui reacted immediately, raising an arm to intercept the attack and nullify it with Flux Earther while preparing his right fist for a follow-up attack. Yet;

THWACK!

The palm jab twisted and curved around his interception with inhuman fluidity and flexibility, before dashing forward and striking his throat regardless! It simply walked around Rui's block and rushed forward uncaring the block that it made look stupid.

"ACK!" Rui coughed some blood as he felt the wound on his throat bleeding. The surprise and shock did not help him gain his bearing either.

The man did not give Rui a moment of respite as he rushed forward with a barrage of palm jabs. Rui guarded against them once more, with maximum vigilance as he observed the incoming attacks.

The man's bones seemed to detach from their joints as they avoid obstacles and barriers blocking their way in a wave-like motion.

"RGH!" Rui grimaced as all of the attacks once more bypassed his guard like they didn't even exist!

flesh wounds had already begun bleeding steadily across his body, yet he wasn't too concerned by them at the moment. His healing factor was good enough to ensure that they would be healed over the span of the fight, even if not immediately. The wounds would certainly not burden him.

Instead, the confirmation of his opponent's combat style and Martial Art were worth it!

('This… His Martial Path must be centered around homing jabs. He takes an uncommon Tai Chi-like stance that is entirely centered around his palms.') He swiftly analyzed. ('His Martial Art must have a paramount focus on granting lethality with each palm jab, while also granting him the ability to bypass any active defense with remarkable trajectory manipulation through sharp muscle control and flexibility.')

The man rushed in with even greater victory at the sight of the successful damage inflicted with his previous barrage as he launched another swift barrage of attacks. He had gone with the expectations of taking Rui down swiftly with just two, or at most three barrages of flesh wounds that would deteriorate Rui's combat ability to the point where he could just kill him in an instant with a single attack.

He did not expect to hit empty air.

WHOOSH

Where Rui was a moment ago, he no longer was as his image faded in the face of the assassin's attacks.

BOOM!!!

CRACK!

A devastating knee blow landed on his ribs, cracking them. He rushed backward in shock and in pain as he witnessed Rui chasing him with a strange stance that was different from before. His elbows and knees flexed and raised, resembling a Muay Thai stance from Earth.

Rui rushed after him without any moment's delay, refusing to let him even a moment of respite.

BAM BAM BAM!

Each attack came from only half a meter away from their target's body. The distance between them had shrunken to such a degree that a mere swing of the elbows and knees landed square on the body!

('Sucks, doesn't it?') Rui continued pummeling him as he never once ceased focusing on his opponent, watching him incur more damage with each blow. ('This martial art from Earth is suited to taking you down.')

That was what he had concluded as he analyzed his opponent's Martial Art with the VOID algorithm.

He had already observed that every palm attack that his opponent had launched, had struck when his opponent's arm was fully extended and stretched out. Even when Rui shifted forward, he would shift back half a step to ensure that his arm would still be fully stretched when his attack reached Rui. He would even adjust the alignment of his body for each strike to ensure they were just perfectly stretched out when it hit the target. His arm needed to be stretched out, and thus at a particular distance.

That was a pattern.

And the VOID algorithm loved patterns. The pattern recognition protocols gobbled it up as it formed the prediction model, which when Rui analyzed with the adaptive evolution protocols resulted in a combat style that deeply resembled two of his favorite martial arts!

('The super close range of Muay Thai and Silat from Earth is perfect for countering your Martial Art!')